Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday took a jibe at the government over India distancing itself from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) statement on the Israel-Iran conflict, and asked if "we we been reduced to being an abject apologist for Israel".
The oil supply update by the minister attaches importance, given that the international oil prices shot up sharply post the early morning attack on Iran by Israel. At the time of filing this report, crude oil WTI futures were trading 6 per cent higher at USD 72.04 per barrel.
Indian stock markets witnessed a steep fall on Friday morning, marking what many are calling a "Black Friday" for investors. Both benchmark indices opened deep in the red, reacting sharply to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.